Abstract: A device for detecting the flatness of a sheet material includes a conveyor, a gantry, a beam, an industrial camera unit, a speed measurement unit, a vibration measurement unit, a multi-line laser, a cable carrier, an industrial controller, and a control cabinet. The conveyor is disposed beneath the gantry and includes a plurality of pinch roll assemblies for feeding a sheet material. The beam is disposed on the gantry and includes a first side and a second side. The industrial camera unit is disposed on the first side of the beam and includes at least two industrial cameras. The speed measurement unit is disposed between the at least two industrial cameras. The vibration measurement unit is disposed on the second side of the beam and includes at least two distance measurement devices. The multi-line laser is disposed between the at least two distance measurement devices.

Abstract: Cold pilger rolling mill for cold forming a hollow into a strain hardened tube with a roll stand with rollers mounted pivotably thereon. Efficient milling of long hollows is enabled without reducing the quality of the manufactured tubes. The cold pilger rolling mill has an unwinding device, wherein the unwinding device is arranged and in the feed direction of the hollow is located in front of the front mandrel thrust block such that at the unwinding device a spindle being rotatable around an axis being perpendicular to the feed direction of the hollow with the hollow wound thereon is receivable and in an operation of the cold pilger rolling mill the hollow is unwindable and feedable between the chuck of the front mandrel thrust block and the mandrel bar into the feed clamping sledge and the roll stand.

Abstract: A system, method and kit permitting more accurate determination of film usage in a pallet wrap machine involves rotary encoders that engage with the actual film, rather than a pre-stretch or stretch roller. At least one rotary encoder engages with unstretched film before a pre-stretch roller takes up the film and at least one rotary encoder engages with stretched film after the film leaves the stretch roller. Slippage of the film on the rollers, which is a common occurrence, is not a factor that affects the data generated by the rotary encoders.

Abstract: Measuring sheet material flatness includes projecting a bright and dark pattern made up of bright parts and dark parts onto a sheet material surface travelling in a lengthwise direction, picking up an image of pattern with image pickup device to acquire a pattern image, with the pickup device having a field of view larger than a sheet material width. The acquired pattern image is analyzed, wherein a pattern in which a bright part is disposed at a predetermined set pitch respectively in longitudinal and lateral directions is formed by an LED light at a predetermined pitch respectively in the longitudinal and lateral directions. The pattern is projected onto the surface such that the longitudinal direction of the pattern lies along a lengthwise direction of the sheet material, and the lateral direction of the pattern lies along a width direction of the sheet material.

Abstract: A pinch roll device (1) for rolled metallurgic products comprises:—a first pinch roll and a second pinch roll (2, 3), a passage gap (5) being defined therebetween, the first and second rolls (2, 3) being rotable about a first rotation axis and a second rotation axis (Y1, Y2), respectively, to draw a rolled metallurgic product (10) through the gap (5),—a hydraulic actuator (21, 41) comprising a hydraulic actuator (21, 42, 43) connected to the first roll (2) and/or the second roll (3) to reciprocally either approach or space apart the first and second rolls (2, 3), so as to either reduce or increase the width of the passage gap (5), respectively,—a pressure sensor (25) in the hydraulic circuit (20),—a position sensor (24) in the actuator (21),—a reversible pump (9) in the hydraulic circuit (20, 41) connected to the actuator (21, 42, 43) to slidingly move a piston (22) connected to the first roll (2) and/or to the second roll (3).

Abstract: The present invention provides apparatus, systems, and methods in which a sheet material roll forming system has n sets of rollers configured to simultaneously bend the sheet material in number of different directions and adjustment mechanisms operatively coupled with the sets of rollers and capable of disengaging rollers in a selected roller set from the sheet material, then rotating and/or translating the rollers in the selected roller set and reengaging the rollers with the sheet material passing through the rollers as a function of sensing a plurality of markings on the sheet material and the rollers.

Abstract: A system for maintaining a continuous speed in a long rolling mill is provided that includes a plurality of guide rollers that feed a billet product from a caster to an entry roll stand along a mill pass line to an exit roll stand. Also, the system includes a plurality of gauges positioned at a plurality of locations along the mill pass line, the gauges perform speed measurement of the billet product passing along the guide rollers. Furthermore, the system includes a logic controller that receives the speed measurement and maintains a speed relationship where the speed between the caster and the entry roll stand is constant as well as the exit speed of the end roll stand is also constant.

Abstract: A method for measuring flatness of a sheet material in which a light and dark pattern composed by a light portion and a dark portion is projected onto a surface of the sheet material running in a longitudinal direction, a pattern image is acquired by photographing the light and dark pattern by an image pickup device having an image pickup visual field larger than a width of the sheet material, and the flatness of the sheet material is measured by analyzing the acquired pattern image. A staggered pattern is used for the projecting step and for light to be specularly reflected for receipt by the image pickup device. Calculating the flatness also includes steps of setting a shape measurement line, averaging picture element concentrations, calculating a distribution of the concentrations, and calculating the flatness based on surface shape using the distribution.

Abstract: A thickness control apparatus of a reversing rolling mill has an entry thickness gauge that measures the thickness of the material to be rolled, and entry material speed detector that detects the speed of the material to be rolled. Measured thickness measured by the entry thickness gauge is tracked on the basis of the speed of the material to be rolled detected by the entry material speed detector. A mill delivery thickness calculator calculates thickness on the delivery side of the reversing rolling mill on the basis of the thickness on the entry side and the roll gap detected.

Abstract: A method and a device is provided for controlling the overlapping of leveling rollers in a planishing machine comprising two leveling trains each bearing a series of rollers with parallel axes. The method and device are particularly applicable to sheets and strip products of great thickness and high hardness requiring little roller overlap. The method is characterized in that it consists in measuring at least the overall value of the torques transmitted to the planishing rollers by the motors, in determining the actual value of the torques used for planishing the product, in comparing the determined value with the reference value of the torque provided by the presetting model and in acting on the members regulating the roller overlap to maintain the value of the thus determined torque at the reference value.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for controlling flare in roll-forming processes are disclosed. An example method involves predefining a plurality of position values to adjust a tilt angle of a flange roller and adjusting the tilt angle of the flange roller based on one of the pre-defined position values to change an amount of flare in a zone of a component. The one of the pre-defined position values is associated with the zone of the component.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for controlling flare in roll-forming processes are disclosed. An example system includes a component position detector configured to detect a component. The example system also includes a comparator configured to compare a flare tolerance value and a flare measurement value of the component and a storage interface configured to retrieve a roller position value from a memory based on the comparison. In addition, the example system includes a flange roller adjuster communicatively coupled to the storage interface and the component position detector and configured to obtain the roller position value from the storage interface and change a position of a roller based on the roller position value to condition the component.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for controlling flare in roll-forming processes are disclosed. An example method of controlling flare involes moving a material through a roll-forming process and measuring the material to obtain a flare characteristic associated with a zone of the material. A position of a roller is then automatically varied to change the flare characteristic associated with a zone of the material as the material moves through the roll-forming process.

Abstract: An apparatus for manufacturing a discrete curved product from a feed stock includes a source of heat that is adapted to impose a focused beam of light on at least one surface of a work piece to cause the surface of the work piece to expand and thereby move in the general direction of the heat source so as to impart a predetermined radius of curvature to the work piece. The apparatus is described in connection with one example where it may be employed to manufacture a curved backbone for a beam blade windshield wiper assembly from feed stock. In addition, a method of manufacturing a discrete curved product from feed stock, generally, as well as a discrete curved backbone for a beam blade windshield wiper assembly from feed stock, specifically, is also disclosed.

Abstract: A continuous hot rolling method includes setting operating conditions (OC) for hot rolling facilities, regarding rolled material for which endless rolling was planned, in which a preceding piece of material and a subsequent piece of material are joined to each other, to batch rolling, in which rolling is performed without joining the preceding piece of material and subsequent piece of material to each other, or setting of changes from batch rolling to endless rolling. Changes can be speedily and accurately made, so that operating problems, or defective coils due to inaccurate changes in settings or delays in changing the settings can be prevented. Both the operating conditions (OCIe) for endless rolling and the operating conditions (OCIb) for batch rolling are predetermined, and the operating conditions (OCe,OCb) for the facilities at various positions on the hot rolling line are determined for both endless rolling and for batch rolling.